Items, such as towels, dish cloths, potholders, and oven mitts, are often stored in a drawer in the kitchen until they are desired to be used, and when they are desired to be used, they are removed from the drawer and used periodically throughout the process of preparing a meal and cleaning up after the meal (hereinafter referred to as “the meal preparation/cleaning up process”). When not specifically being used during the meal preparation/cleaning up process, these items are typically placed onto a countertop, rather than back into the drawer, so as to be within easy reach to be used when needed. Not only is it not convenient to move such items repeatedly back and forth into and from the drawer during the meal preparation/cleaning up process, since such items would no longer be within easy reach for use each time such items were replaced into the drawer, after such items have been used, no one would want to place a dishcloth, a towel, a potholder, or an oven mitt that is wet or partly covered with food back into the drawer.
While potholders and oven mitts sometimes are provided with a small loop to hang such items on a nail or a hook protruding from a wall, many home owners avoid adding protruding nails and hooks to their walls for safety reasons and aesthetic reasons. So when potholders and oven mitts, as well as dish cloths and towels, are not in actual use during the meal preparation/cleaning up process, they are typically placed within easy reach by placing them on a nearby countertop, which creates a problem of reducing available countertop space that is available for meal preparation.